How do I cook a steak?

The brown crust on a steak is the Maillard reaction, and it needs a dry surface and high heat. Any surface moisture has to boil off first, and while it does the steak is steaming rather than searing. That's why patting it dry is the step that most changes the result.

What you'll need

• Steak, ideally 2.5cm+ thick
• Heavy pan — cast iron or stainless, not non-stick
• Kitchen paper
• Salt
• Oil with a high smoke point
• Meat thermometer (optional)

Step by step

1. Take the steak out of the fridge 30–45 minutes before cooking.A fridge-cold steak cooks unevenly — the outside overcooks before the centre warms.
2. Pat the surface completely dry with kitchen paper.The single most important step. Wet meat steams instead of browning.
3. Salt generously just before cooking, or at least 40 minutes before.Either is fine; the window in between draws moisture to the surface without time to reabsorb, which works against you.
4. Heat a heavy pan until it's genuinely hot — a drop of water should evaporate instantly.Cast iron or heavy stainless. Non-stick can't take the heat this needs.
5. Add a little high-smoke-point oil, then lay the steak away from you.Rapeseed, sunflower or groundnut. Butter burns at this heat — add it later.
6. Don't move it for 2–3 minutes, until a crust has formed.Moving it interrupts crust formation. Leave it alone.
7. Flip, and add butter, garlic and thyme if you like, basting for the last minute.The butter goes in at the end, once the fierce initial heat has come down slightly.
8. Check the internal temperature: 48°C rare, 52°C medium rare, 57°C medium.It rises another 2–3°C while resting. Temperature is far more reliable than timing, which depends on thickness.
9. Rest on a warm plate for at least 5 minutes before cutting.Cutting immediately loses juice onto the board. Resting lets it redistribute.

Tips

• Thicker steaks are much easier to cook well — there's more margin between a good crust and an overcooked centre. Under 2cm is genuinely difficult.
• For thick steaks, reverse-searing works well: low oven until 10°C below target, then a fierce sear for the crust.
• Render the fat edge first by holding the steak on its side with tongs for a minute. It renders and crisps rather than sitting flabby.
• The touch test is unreliable until you've cooked a lot of steaks. A thermometer removes the guesswork entirely.

Common mistakes

• Not drying the surface — Surface moisture must boil off before browning starts, so you steam the steak instead of searing it.
• Pan not hot enough — Grey, unappetising meat with no crust.
• Moving it around the pan — Interrupts crust formation, which needs continuous contact.
• Not resting it — The juices run out onto the board rather than staying in the meat.

Questions people ask